Louis Sachar has a gift for mingling the goofy and the realistic--school settings become theaters of the bizarre, colorful underdogs triumph in unexpected ways as Sachar shifts perspectives, reveals feelings, and inserts jokes and puns to please older kids and tween readers. Chapters in his realistic fiction books are short, quickly-paced, dialogue-delightful, and will also entice humor-loving readers and adults who love a great read-aloud. Holes, a book for slightly older readers, is slightly darker and more complex, juggling two plots with folk and legend motifs. Start with: Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Louis Sachar has a gift for mingling the goofy and the realistic--school settings become theaters of the bizarre, colorful underdogs triumph in unexpected ways as Sachar shifts perspectives, reveals feelings, and inserts jokes and puns to please older kids and tween readers. Chapters in his realistic fiction books are short, quickly-paced, dialogue-delightful, and will also entice humor-loving readers and adults who love a great read-aloud. Holes, a book for slightly older readers, is slightly darker and more complex, juggling two plots with folk and legend motifs. Start with: Sideways Stories from Wayside School